Hi everyone, I'm deciding which service to pick to papertrade swingtrades. Can anyone with experience please tell me which is better, Stockcharts.com or Lycos LiveCharts?

Thank you,

Dennis

More...

Dennis,

I see your not getting many replies.

Try doing this...

tell everybody here what your only willing to spend on your software...

if you need realtime charts or not...

indicators package you use...

what are you going to be trading for your swing positions (one particular trading vehicle or something different each position) because if its different all the time...your most likely going to need something that does specific scanning via your personal criterias if your not going to concentrate on one thing to trade...

and any other info you can think about.

Why? Every trader is different from the next guy/gal that's a trader. Each have different needs.

Thus, for example...5 swing traders may be using different software and are very satisfied with their charting program.

It's a common problem for beginners in trading to ask what is the BEST instead of telling what they are looking for and asking for recommendations.

Also, what's your definition of swing trading?

There are several different types of swing traders out there calling themselves one thing...swing traders.

I'll name a few different types...

One type of swing trader will hold overnight positions.

Another type of swing trader will take a position early in the trading day and hold their position with very wide stops and with profit-targets of a lot of points on a single position and close the position in the same day it was open.

By the way...

here's a question I have for you that may help you decide on your own...

why did you pick StockCharts and LiveCharts for a comparison because there are so many other software programs out there that's useful to traders?

Something else...you don't want just a trading platform...

you also want something that has active discussion forums that supports the product...especially if your a beginner trader.

And one last question...a big one...

how are you going to paper trading (which software)?

P.S. Both are very inexpensive. Therefore, I suggest you use both for 1 month to see which is more suitable for your needs.

Also, I know a few swing traders (overnighters) that permanetly use both because in some ways they compliment each other via offering many things that the other doesn't have.

I don't use Lycos LiveCharts. I do use StockCharts.com. My primary interest in StockCharts is their Advanced Scan Engine. I use this to setup my own criteria for both swing trade opportunities and day trades.

For Example, I may look for stocks that have the 20 day SMA above the 50 day SMA with both above the 200 SMA, and trading up with volume 150% above the 50 day SMA. Or, I may look for stocks experiencing a MACD crossover for possible swing trades.

They also have standard scans using technical analysis, candle chart patterns and P&F alerts.

To answer a few questions, I'm looking for an inexpensive charting program to test what I have read about swing trading using TA. It ould be nice to have Fib Grid capabilities as well as an interactive tool to draw trend lines. I am chosing Stockcharts.com becuase it is inexpensive (about 20 bucks a month).

By swing trader, I mean in and out of the market in about 3 days.

I am currently reading "The Master SwingTrader" and I plan to use Farley's 7 Bells as a guide to papertrade and learn.

I do have Cybertrader Similator to papertrade with, does anyone know of a better swingtradeing similator?

You can apply Fibonacci Retracements in Stockcharts. At the bottom of each chart, click on "Annotate". One of the buttons at the top of the annotate chart is a Fibonacci Retracement tool.

I use StreetSmart Pro through Charles Schwab, which is the same program as CyberTrader. Their simulator is just as good as anyone's. Just remember that paper trading is never the same as actual trading. When you apply real money to a trade, your psychology will completely change.